The Need for Higher Teacher Pay in Rural America: What’s Being Attempted, and How Wyoming is Doing it Right

In recent years, rural areas of the United States have made attempts to raise the average starting teacher salary due to the low level of pay afforded to teachers that has made it virtually impossible to keep up with the cost-of-living. Some states have worked to create plans to raise the average minimum starting salary, but not without conflict within the state and state government. Although other states are also in need of a higher teacher salary, this policy brief will take a look at three rural states that have recently attempted at a higher reacher salary: Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Iowa. While a lot of attention is paid to bettering inner-city schools and “high-needs” areas, rural areas, where students are even less likely to attend a four-year university than students in metro areas, are being ignored. Data shows that on average, rural states in America have a lower starting teacher salary, and many rural states have begun to feel they are being left behind.

Background

In the 1940s, American teachers were among the highest paid individuals, earning morethan half of their fellow college graduates. In South Korea, the minimum salary for teachers is $55,000 with a possible career-end salary of $155,000. According to Dana Goldstein in her novelTeacher Wars: A History of America’s most Embattled Profession, this puts South Korean teachers at a salary in between engineers and doctors (Goldstein).

The desire to increase teacher pay is widespread, and efforts to increase teacher pay exist nationwide. According to McKinsey, the differential between a New York City Lawyer and a starting teacher in public education in 1970 was about $2,000. Now, the differential is approximately $115,000 (Strauss).In more recent years, the desire for a higher average teacher salary has become prominent in more rural regions in America. According to the National Education Association, Americans believe more money should be spent on education and feel that the biggest problem American schools face is inadequate funding. The NEA claims that the majority of citizens have advocated for a starting salary of $43,000, which is a $7,000 increase of the average salary of education majors that graduate from college in 2009. Statistics show that seven out of ten people want their child to become a teacher, and they agree that with a higher salary, the position might become far more desirable (Long). Nationwide, support for a raised teacher salary is consistent and overwhelming. Recently states like Oklahoma, Iowa, and Wyoming have attempted to make changes. Oklahoma’s success is yet to be determined, while Iowa has raised the starting pay but still falls short of their original goal.

State/Region/Assoc.

Starting Salary ($)

Average Salary ($)

Alabama

36,198

47,949

Alaska

44,166

65,468

Arkansas

32,691

49,885

Arizona

31,874

46,631

California

41,259

69,324

Colorado

32,126

49,844

Connecticut

42,924

69,397

District of Columbia

51,539

58,318

Delaware

39,338

59,679

Florida

35,166

46,598

Georgia

33,664

52,880

Hawaii

41,027

54,300

Idaho

31,159

49,734

Iowa

33,226

50,946

Indiana

34,696

50,065

Kansas

33,386

47,464

Kentucky

35,166

50,203

Louisiana

38,655

51,381

Massachusetts

40,600

72,334

Maryland

43,235

64,248

Maine

31,835

48,430

Michigan

35,901

61,560

Minnesota

34,505

56,268

Missouri

30,064

47,517

Mississippi

31,184

41,814

Montana

27,274

48,855

North Carolina

30,778

45,737

North Dakota

32,019

47,344

Nebraska

30,844

48,997

New Hampshire

34,280

55,599

New Jersey

48,631

68,787

New Mexico

31,960

45,453

Nevada

35,358

55,957

New York

43,839

75,279

Ohio

33,096

56,307

Oklahoma

31,606

44,373

Oregon

33,549

57,612

Pennsylvania

41,901

62,994

Rhode Island

39,196

63,474

South Carolina

32,306

48,375

South Dakota

29,851

39,018

Tennessee

34,098

47,563

Texas

38,091

48,819

Utah

33,081

49,393

Virginia

37,848

48,670

Vermont

35,541

52,526

Washington

36,335

52,234

Wisconsin

33,546

53,797

West Virginia

32,533

45,453

Wyoming

43,269

56,775

As the above chart shows, the ten states with the lowest starting teacher salary are as follows, beginning with the lowest: Montana, South Dakota, Missouri, North Carolina, Nebraska, Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Maine, and New Mexico, with Montana being the lowest at $27,274. (“2012-2013 Average Starting…”). The highest teacher salary is in Washington D.C. at $51,539 (“Public School Teacher Salaries…”). While these states are geographically scattered across the country, almost all are considered rural (ranked in the lower 50% of states measured by population density, other than North Carolina) (“List of US States…). According to this data, the average starting teacher salary is approximately $33,994, which is way below the cost-of-living for a married couple with one child. According to a more recent source, the average starting teacher salary in 2016 was $36,141, which is only an increase of just over $2,000 nationwide over a four year span (“Teacher Salaries in America”). Even if both adults in a family are teachers, their net salary will be just under $72,000 which is only $14,000 over the $58,000 cost of living for a family with one child. For two professionals dedicating their lives to teaching children from other families, it hardly seems fair for them to be limited to one child in their own household.

From what can be found, the most recent data has hardly changed from 2012-2013. Only 2% of states nationwide (one state – Washington D.C.) has a starting salary of over $50,000. The average cost of living for a single adult living alone is $28,458. In most states, even the lowest starting teacher salaries are enough to support that average cost of living. However, the average cost of living for a married couple with one child is $56,176. This means that only a teacher living in Washington D.C. can support a three person household with a teacher’s salary (“Cost of Living in…”)

Oklahoma

The plans to raise teacher pay in Oklahoma were ambitious, beginning in November of 2016 with efforts to provide teachers with a $10,000 increase in salary. This bill was titled “State Question 779”, which planned to increase the sales tax by one percent in order to fund a $5,000 teacher pay raise. This money would also have been used to fund common education, higher education, and CareerTech, which is a organization dedicated to improving career and technology education. However, Oklahoma state voters voted against State Question 779 (59.4% to 40.6%). Oklahoma Senator David Holt believes this happens not because the voters are against an increase of teacher pay. Rather, he believes the people want the Legislature to find a better, more efficient plan (“Oklahoma House passes teacher…”).

This is not the only attempt to raise the teacher salary in Oklahoma. According to a Tulsa news source, Holt claims that “several ways of increasing revenue were floated last year…They included expanding the sales tax to items that are taxed in other states but not in Oklahoma.” According to Holt, expanding the sales tax is not the same as increasing it. Because Oklahoma is very far behind the national average, Holt does not believe even a $10,000 increase is too much. He is adamant that they must not give up the fight for higher teacher salary, otherwise they will not “have the future (they) want for this state” (Hoberock).

More recently, the Oklahoma State House of Representatives voted 92-7 to approve a bill by Representative Michael Rogers to increase teacher pay by $6,000 over a span of six years, beginning with $1,000 the first year, $2,000 the second year, and $3,000 more the third year. According to Rogers, “there’s strong support for raising teacher salaries this year and that work is underway to find a funding source.” Finding the funding source is exactly the problem, however, and this problem exists nationwide. In Oklahoma,a $1,000 raise would cost roughly $53 million per year (Hoberock). According to the chart above, which contains the most recent data available, the starting salary for teachers in Oklahoma is still quite below the national average. So far, it is difficult to tell whether or not the attempts to raise the teacher salary in Oklahoma will work. The plan, which addresses the issue over a span of time (building upon each teacher’s salary year by year) may not be as effective as plans in other states, like Iowa.

Relative Success in Iowa

While Iowa is not currently in the lowest ten states ranked by teacher salary, it is undoubtedly rural and has proven to be somewhat successful in raising teacher salaries. In fact, this is why it is no longer included in the lowest ten states for teacher pay. In 2013, the Branstad Education Plan required an extra $314 per student from the state so the districts in the Iowa Quad City area could raise the average salary and even give bonuses to their highest performing teachers. Additionally, thousands of dollars were left over for the districts to use in areas where extra funding is needed. At first glance, it appears that Iowa’s methods were sound, but due to the small size of seven rural districts in the state, they were initially still short money and appeared unable to afford the program. Luckily, it appeared that these districts would be able to partner with nearby districts in order to fund the program (Wiser).

In 2015, the school districts around Council Bluffs, Iowa aimed to make a 3.45% boost in teachers’ paychecks so that the base pay for teachers would grow by $873 by the following year. The success may be due to the exceptional cooperation with the teachers’ unions. The Council Bluffs school board worked with two union groups to approve contracts that grant a 3.05% overall increase to compensation. However, a member of the school board, Bill Grove, had still expressed concern about potential lack of funding in the future, even though during years when the district is pressed for money, smaller raises have been given. Overall, the goal was to raise the minimum teachers’ salary to $35,000. Even $35,000, however, is less than the nationwide cost-of-living and less than the starting national average for teachers. While Iowa has had some success, the starting salary is still short of the originally proposed goal of $35,000 (Stewart).

Wyoming – The Successful Fight to Raise Teacher Pay

Similarly to the situation in Oklahoma, the inadequate level of funding for teacher pay available in the state of Wyoming used to make it impossible for teachers in rural areas to keep up with their cost-of-living. According to Wyoming State Senator Stan Cooper, “the cost of living in some rural districts has been outpacing teacher salaries…and while the Legislature does recalibrate teacher pay once every five years… the Legislature also has a duty to account for cost-of-living increases in between those adjustments” (Chilton).

Luckily, in 2015, the Wyoming state Senate on Thursday approved a budget amendment that raise the cost of living for Wyoming teachers. This amendment was created by Senator Cooper and adopted by the state senate by a vote of 19-11, and provided $5.9 million for what is called “external cost adjustment,” which “increases salaries by taking into account inflation and other cost pressures, for K-12 professional staff members,” according to Wyoming news source, the Casper Star Tribune. Prior to this amendment, the Wyoming House of Representatives approved an increase of teacher pay of $6.6 million, but the House instead matched the Senate’s $5.9 million.

The need to raise the average teacher salary does not just come down to a teacher’s financial need and comfort. When teachers are paid more, they feel a greater deal of respect. Additionally, when the community is willingly paying more in order to give its teachers better salaries, the teachers are more likely to feel as if people in their community believe they deserve higher pay. According to Wyoming Education Association President, Kathryn Valido, “With an average beginning salary of nearly $43,000 state-wide, Wyoming’s teachers can attest to the sense of professional respect that comes with a fair salary” (Long). Oftentimes, many educators have an issue with politicians (non-educators) attempting to enact legislature in areas where they do not have any personal experience. Luckily, with Sen. James D. Anderson of Glenrock, Wyoming, this is not the case. He is a a former teacher, and he recognizes when teachers come to work in his district and then are forced to leave because they can no longer keep up with the cost of living, more specifically, that they cannot afford a house and are stuck in an apartment (Chilton).

However, there are those who disagree with the necessity of higher teacher pay. While democratic Senator Bernadine Craft agrees with Senators Anderson and Cooper, and shared experience of a counselor and teacher asking for letters of recommendation so they could find a better job outside the state, Senator Hank Coe had said it is not the right time to “discuss external cost adjustments.” Coe, along with Senator Eli Bebout claim to have seen analyses that suggest there is no need for teacher pay raise, and that the state has been “keeping pace with inflation. Bebout said, “When I travel around the country, I don’t hear about Wyoming teachers going to other states – it’s the other way. They’re jealous of what we do in Wyoming. They’re jealous of the kind of starting salaries we pay these teachers.” In contrast, Senator John Hastert raised another affecting issue: new curriculum standards that cost too much for many districts and make it impossible to enact the funding increases for teachers that have already been approved (Chilton). As can be seen in the table on page five, Wyoming does have a starting salary of $43,269 for teachers, proving that attempts to increase teacher salary have been effective. This increase in minimum teacher salary is likely more attractive to prospective teachers and teachers looking to find a state with the highest income, especially considering the growth from the minimum to the average teacher salary is approximately the same – $13,000 – in both Wyoming and Oklahoma.

Suggestions: What’s the Solution?

Other states fighting to raise the minimum teacher pay should follow the model proposed by the state of Wyoming, which has worked. In the McKinsey study cited earlier, research was done to determine what it would take to attract the best teachers to improve the nation’s education system. Whereas in other countries many teachers come from the top percent of college graduates, only 23% of teacher in the United States are among the top, and only 14% of these graduates are willing to work in high-poverty areas where the best teachers are needed (Auguste et. all). While Iowa had some success and success in Oklahoma is yet to be determined, the plans proposed and executed by Wyoming have made it an outlier among the country’s rural states. Only three states/regions have starting teaching pay that exceeds Wyoming’s: New York, New Jersey, and Washington DC, which are three of the most densely populated regions in the country. One difference between Wyoming and other states that have had pending success and only some success – Oklahoma and Iowa – appears to be state government involvement. At first glance, legislators in Oklahoma seem to have just as much involvement as legislators in Wyoming. However, legislators in Wyoming like Senator Glenrock have personal involvement with education as former teachers. This has provided Wyoming educators statewide with a sense of unity and trust towards their politicians, even if the politicians have disagreed amongst themselves. In Wyoming, increasing teacher pay is no longer a bipartisan issue, as it has been supported by both democrats and republicans in the State Congress despite some disagreements. In Iowa, legislators are not as vocal about higher teacher pay and salary increases are left for district school boards and teacher’s unions to tackle. Community involvement has proven to be somewhat effective in Iowa, but the progress is limited without the help of legislators. Alternatively, while legislators in Oklahoma are vocal about increasing teacher pay, Oklahoma residents are not as supportive of their plan, which creates a disconnect and a lack of community involvement. In order to effectively raise teacher pay and provide teacher with the quality of life and respect they deserve, the state government, teachers, and the communities within a state must all be on board and in agreement.